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Paroxsihzem > Paroxsihzem > Reviews > vorfeed
Paroxsihzem - Paroxsihzem

Bizarre Canadian black metal - 75%

vorfeed, February 12th, 2011

Between the crunchy guitars, audible bass, and cavernous vocals, the sound on this album has plenty of low-end (almost too much: it's mixed so loud that the sound distorts at times!) The drums are too clicky for my taste, though, especially during the blasting parts. Occasional samples are used, also; I like these when they're used between tracks, but the ones which run over the music are sometimes distracting.

The industrial intro and outro seem a little out-of-place on a record this heavy. Fortunately, they're short, and what follows more than makes up for it -- Paroxsihzem serves up some decent blackened death metal here. Some of the riffs still sound typical, and a few of the transitions are a little wooden, but this is a huge step forward from the demo. The shifting multi-guitar parts, clever use of vocals, and off-kilter chord choices really help to give this record a varied sound. The frantic parts, as during "Deindividuation", give off a convincing Morbid Angel style vibe, while songs like "Being and Nothingness" and "Vanya 265" combine tremolo/blasting sections with swaggering death metal riffs. "Nausea" and "En Attendant Godot" are more experimental, with ambient, sample-heavy parts and plenty of tempo changes.

The best track here is definitely "Aokigahara Forest" -- this epic exploration of Japan's "suicide forest" bites off a little more than it can chew, perhaps, but it pays off in both atmosphere and heaviness. The interplay between the guitar and vocals here is quite convincing, as is the varied drumming, and the slow sections are powerful.

This is a big improvement over the demo, and an enjoyable record in its own right; those who enjoy bizarre Canadian black metal should keep an eye on this band.

Standout tracks: "Vanya 265", "Deindividuation", "Aokigahara Forest"

Review by vorfeed: http://www.vorfeed.net